Month: April 2015

It was about 2 AM and I couldn’t wait to collapse into bed after David Platt’s 6 hours of teaching Saturday. About the same time Nepal was collapsing. A 7.8 earthquake leveled homes and took the lives of over 5000. Poor, poor, poor is the life of most of Nepal’s 29 million people. 1/3 live on less than $1/day. Most are Hindus, some Buddhists. Less than 3% follow Jesus.

A Free Church missionary living in a nearby country quietly works with Nepalese pastors (Christianity is not viewed favorably) in Nepal and gives this report: Greetings! It is with heaviness of heart that I write to you because of the devastation in Nepal. As you know, we have been working with pastors and church planters there for the last four years and have built precious friendships. In this picture you see some of the brothers and sisters whose lives have been changed because of the earthquake. You have seen the situation on the news.Nepalese Christians worship on Saturday, rather than Sunday. The earthquake hit at noon on Saturday when many Christians were still worshiping. People ask if any of our partners are among the victims. To my knowledge, all our partners have come through safely, although we have been unable to reach some of them. Some have lost their homes or church buildings. What can you do?First of all please pray:· Pray for a Christian leader, K. He is safe but their church building is badly damaged.· Pray for a church planter, Kr. He and his family are OK but one of the walls of his house collapsed.· Pray for S and R who lead an inner city church and are reaching out to the people in need.· Pray for Stephen Chandra of ReachGlobal and Gil Nash of OC International going in the see how best to channel help for long-term relief and gospel transformation.· Pray for people to turn to the true and living God now that many of the temples and statues they have revered for centuries have been destroyed.· Pray for the Church to be strong and full of God’s love.

At the end of tomorrow’s sermon on prayer, I’ll suggest that enriching our understanding of our Heavenly Father enriches our love for Him–a weapon in fighting the devil who’s trying to separate us from Dad. Because He loves us, the Father told us a lot about Himself in the Bible so we could worship Him and love Him back. The quest to knowing Him is lifelong. The following Bible verses may aid your journey.

What’s true of God that’s not at all true of us?

He is Spirit: John 4:24. The Father is not hampered by a body, but He sometimes take on one. Genesis 18:1-2, 16-23

If this is so, is the God of the OT different from the God of the NT? Does He evolve? Improve? No! God OT is identical to God NT. However, the fulfillment of God OT’s plan by the coming of the Messiah, does change a lot of things. (Like, no more animals to sacrifice!)

He Knows everything. 1 John 3:20; Hebrews 4:13; Psalm 139:1-2

What is going on that He is ignorant of? Is He aware of how unjustly you are being treated? Of the awful crimes being perpetrated against innocent children?

What secret do you think you’ve been able to hide from Him? What façade doesn’t He see through? Isn’t it startling that God knows every major and minor detail about you…, every good and horrible thing about you…, and still loves you with an everlasting love!

He Is everywhere. Psalm 39:7-10. Can’t run from Him; can’t hide from Him (although Adam tried).

He has unlimited power. Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 19:26; 2 Corinthians 6:18 [anywhere in the Bible God is called “Almighty”, it refers to His limitless power.] (also Job 42:2). There is nothing He can’t do—INCLUDING raising the dead.

In His being He is a Unity: Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Timothy 2:5 (also 1 Corinthians 8:6)

Conforming to a standard of correctness. Acting or being in conformity to what is morally upright or good. (Justice: Deciding guilt or innocence with complete impartiality, with absolute fairness.)

2 Chronicles 12:1-8. If God is just when he orders judgment, is He unjust to then relent when people humble themselves?

Romans 9:14-18 (Because God is just, no one will ever be judged with a judgment he/she does not deserve. But because He is merciful many will escape the judgment they do deserve.) [The only Christians who grasp their justification enough to leap and shout with joy, are those who grasp God’s justice.]

He is Merciful. James 5:11; Ephesians.2:4; Titus 3:5; Nehemiah 9:31When God shows mercy He withholds the punishment that we rightly deserve.

He is Loving. 1 John 4:8; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Galatians 2:20 (also Psalm 25:10; 1 John 3:1; Psalm 62:12) How wonderful! How have you seen the love of God in your life? God didn’t need to love us, He chose to.

He is Gracious. Exodus 34:6; Ephesians 1:7-8; 2:8; 2 Chronicles 30:9; Titus 2:11; 2 Corinthians 9:14. Grace is everything good that God gives us which we do not deserve.

He is Kind. Romans 2:4; Isaiah 54:8; Titus 3:4

He is Good. Mark 10:18; Psalm 107:1; Psalm 145:9; Romans 8:28. This is why His sovereignty is reassuring instead of terrifying.

He is Patient. Exodus 34:6; 2 Peter 3:9 (& 3:15). Without God’s patience, each of us would feel the weight of God’s wrath at the first breath we took as sinners (which would be our very first breath!). If He were not patient, we would know no mercy, no grace, only wrath.

He is Wrathful. Ephesians 5:6; Romans 12:19; Psalm 7:11; Jeremiah 21:5; Revelation 19:15; Romans 2:5. That God expresses wrath does not in any way checkmate God’s love, mercy or grace. His wrath it is neither constant nor haphazardly applied. But when its fullness is one day experienced by the world (Revelation 6-19), all people will know just how violently God objects to being ignored, despised, unloved and unworshiped. Hell is the fitting fulfillment to His righteous wrath.

Occasionally I use my phone’s YouVersion Bible app but mostly just if my paper Bible isn’t within reach. In private worship time, study, or preaching, I’m all paper except for comparing translations. Admittedly, I’m old school but I think there are some good reasons for being slow to abandon paper. Several months ago the elders started a conversation about whether digital Bibles are a plus or a minus. We also discussed the concern others have that putting Scripture on the screens Sunday mornings may be reducing a person’s interest in his/her own Bible, in bringing it to worship, even in reading it. That discussion is ongoing.

After slipping across Somalia’s border, on Thursday, four Al-Shabaab militants in suicide vests padded across the grounds of Kenya’s Garissa University to a lecture hall where Christian students were praying. With a hail of automatic weapons’ fire they cut down worshipers. Fanning out, the killers stalked dormitory halls, promising students in hiding they would be spared if they came out. But those who came out were immediately shot. The attackers promised not to kill “ladies”. That too was a ploy and many were shot. Witnesses say Christian students were targeted and Muslim students were permitted to leave unharmed. The attackers laughed at their handiwork and chanted in Swahili, ‘We don’t fear death, this will be a good Easter holiday for us!”

When Kenyan soldiers arrived the terrorists took dozens of hostages. 13 hours after the horror began, soldiers gunned down the attackers and moved in to assess the carnage. It was unspeakable: 147 dead, over 65 wounded.

Al-Shabaab claims to serve Allah. Islam is the fastest growing faith on the planet. A just-released Pew Foundation study suggests it will also surpass Christianity as the largest by the middle of this century. Yet the most extreme of its practitioners zealously believe a doctrine of death: slaughter those who don’t believe–often in the most gruesome of ways, and suicide/death during jihad is one of the few sure paths to heaven. No wonder Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of the book Heretic and former Muslim herself, labeled Islam “…a destructive, nihilistic cult of death…”

This weekend Christians celebrate the God who not only rescues His people from death, but out of love willingly dies Himself to liberate rebels like me from His wrath. How different these doctrines: one calls people to hate, kill and seek death, and one calls people to love, offer life–and be willing to die so that others might live. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on [Jesus]the sins of us all. Isaiah 53:6

Disclaimer: I’ve seen porn but never been a porn addict. I wish I could say it’s because of my great faith but it’s probably easier for me to avoid because what I have seen is so artless and crude–which isn’t that appealing to a romantic like me. Then again, I have to be on guard against the pull of erotic stories.

Having dealt with numerous men under the spell of porn–and I think “spell” may be a better word than “addiction” since it’s pull is not just biological but supernatural and occultic–I remain unconvinced that techniques and gimmicks will end porn use–or keep men from it. In general, the benefit of running from something bad has clout only if we’re running to something better. Jesus is better.